BLCA c23s01
Text Ponies stared incredulously up at the sight: Luna, in all her glory, stood framed against the stars upon the Tyrant Wyrm's head, her gaze the baleful, eldritch eyes of Nightmare Moon. The Wyrm's own eyes glowed with terrible sapphire fire as ponies and Nibelung both looked at one another, whispering in fear and disbelief before Scrivener Blooms snarled and leaned down, blue mist bursting from his jaws as he asked coldly: "Did you think there would be no price to pay? We even heard that some of our servants were killed... our servants, who protect you!" "Patience, beloved." Nightmare Moon said gently, and Scrivener rumbled as he lowered his head slightly in submission, and the winged unicorn standing atop his skull smiled slightly, her eyes filled with the terrible cunning of her dark alter ego but Luna's own powerful passion as well: it was like both sides of her had mixed and mingled together. "We are here to show you that we are generous. That we are kind. That we are compassionate. We do not ask a high price... one is far less than many. And any unicorn will do... whether you are loyal to us or not, I am sure you can see reason here. "You see, my husband desires a horn. I desire this as well... and one of our precious prosthetic horns simply will not do. Oh, they are powerful, yes... but not nearly as strong as a real horn. They may crack with use, and they cannot be used for fencing, only for magic. They will be serviceable and invaluable in aiding us with the creation of our Moon Blessed, with granting miraculous powers to the ponies we find worthy..." Luna licked her lips slowly, her eyes half-lidding even as whispers and snarls sounded from the crowd. "But they are still not the real thing. We require the real thing... we require it given willingly." "Wait, Luna, what are you doing?" Celestia shouted, looking pleadingly up at the two as she shook her head fiercely. "What kind of madness is this? Depriving a unicorn of their horn, of... of magic... it's too cruel, too monstrous! It would be like cutting the wings from a Pegasus, the hooves from an earth pony... would you take those things as well?" "Only if they force my horn." Luna said quietly, and a shiver passed through the crowd as the dark-coated winged unicorn continued coldly: "Besides, sister, look at the hypocrites and murderers behind you. At least five of my servants of the night are missing. I have heard that any pony who had supported me in the past has been insulted and attacked unless they had a change of heart today. My Moon Blessed were assailed in the street by whom I thought was a friend. Fluttershy, beautiful Fluttershy, is under protection of demons because someone tried to break into her cottage and she is terrified! I ask for one sacrifice, to make my point clear: that I will seek justice if wrong is done, but I can be merciful to those who demonstrate a sense of honor, a sense of strength that I am hoping these other pathetic miscreants will learn from. "But if no one is willing or brave enough to step forwards..." Luna flicked her horn upwards, and the enormous tree of the library rumbled, one of the branches raising higher and making the balcony that rested across its mighty boughs creak and grind, before thick vines formed and twisted down from from the branches, forming into deadly nooses as the winged unicorn said coldly: "Then I will exact my payment in equal blood. First at the gallows, and then in the torture chambers. They wish to see fear and suffering? I will do them one better and let them experience it." "Luna, stop!" Twilight called, looking up fearfully as she shook her head, and for a moment, Luna's eyes flickered as Scrivener looked down, seeming to hesitate at the sight of the terror and sorrow in the violet mare's eyes. She stared up at them, and they looked back before she clenched her eyes shut, then slowly opened them and whispered: "Take my horn. If it'll stop all this, take my horn." "No!" Celestia shouted, even as Luna began to open her mouth, and the ivory equine shivered and shook her head, stepping in front of Twilight and glaring up at Luna... but there was fear beneath the anger, desperation beneath the disgust. "Don't do this, sister! This is not the way to fix things and solve problems, you do not have to pursue-" "They treat me, us, as monsters! They wish for a monster, then I shall give them the dark empress they seem to think I have been setting myself up as, when all I wish is to peacefully tend to my desires and protect the ungrateful fools!" Luna shouted back, and Scrivener Blooms snarled even as he lowered his head so Luna could better glare down at her big sister, a shiver of rage passing along her spine. "And look, even now, it is my friend, the one pony who I can trust above all others to be beside me, who offers herself as sacrifice! Not one of their own day-lit kind, not one of your precious subjects sister, but my beautiful, darling, sweet Twilight Sparkle, even though I see her door cracked from hooves striking it, the windows of this library broken, and the stains of tears upon her cheeks from what they have done to her!" Celestia was silent as Luna breathed hard in and out, snarling down at her big sister... and then the ivory equine looked up and whispered: "You're right, Luna. They are my subjects... and you are my little sister. And... I can't fight you. I can't reason with you, but I also cannot bear to fight you anymore, not... not anymore. And this crown... these responsibilities..." She trembled, and tears slowly leaked down her cheeks, her rainbow mane sparking quietly as she looked up silently and Luna looked down, accusing, furious, only to be sated by one thing and one thing alone. Slowly, Celestia looked over her shoulder as Twilight shook her head silently and offered a weak smile, beginning to step forwards... and then Celestia turned quickly back towards Luna and said quietly: "They're my people. Take my horn." A collective gasp ran through the crowd, and Twilight Sparkle looked in shock at Celestia's back, then up at Luna with horror as the younger sibling twitched back in surprise... then slowly frowned before the ivory winged unicorn straightened and stood proudly, amethyst eyes filling with determination and a strange, calm majesty spreading through the Queen of Equestria as she said clearly: "Take my horn. You have no better offer, no better candidate. If it will quell your anger against Ponyville, my life is forfeit, my horn is yours. But in return... give the ponies what they desire. Remove all your servants from this town, let them fend for themselves... listen to the words of Equestria. Of... your people, my people, our people. Sister... please. Please..." Silence spiraled outwards, whispers and whimpers spreading through the crowd as Luna looked silently up... but the ponies were quiet. The unicorns stood with their heads bowed as if trying to hide their horns, Twilight was shaking her head mutely in disbelief, and only Celestia had her head raised high. Luna closed her eyes, considering, feeling Nightmare Moon receding as Scrivener rumbled indecisively... and then finally, the dark-coated winged unicorn opened her eyes and said quietly: "I am sorry, sister. Very well. Since no others have stepped forwards, and thou shall not permit Twilight to sacrifice herself... come." "No, please... oh please, don't..." Twilight said weakly, stepping forwards... but Celestia only smiled faintly over her shoulder before she leaned down and kissed the purple mare's forehead softly, and tears spilled down Twilight's cheeks as she shuddered and whispered: "I don't want to lose you..." "You won't. You won't." Celestia soothed gently, and then she smiled softly and bowed her head forwards, quietly tapping her horn against Twilight's. "I love you like a daughter, Twilight Sparkle. I'm more than willing to part with this... to save the lives of these ponies, and more importantly... to save you. I've learned the greatest thing you can do with your power... is to give it up to save another's life." Twilight could only stare weakly, shaking her head slowly as Celestia turned and spread her wings, then leapt upwards, flying past Luna to land silently on Scrivener's back... and the Tyrant Wyrm rumbled as Luna gazed over her shoulder towards where Celestia lay. Scrivener's eyes, meanwhile, roved over the crowd with disappointment before he looked at Twilight with sympathy... and yet for all the tears, the emotions, the sorrow in her heart, for all her pleading... Twilight stared up at Luna and Scrivener with loss and love and sorrow, not with hatred or anger. Not for them... even as they turned slowly, striding back down the way they had come, with Celestia curled silently up between the jutting bones of Scrivener's back. Slowly, Twilight turned... and a hoof smashed into her muzzle, knocking her staggering backwards before she snarled, tears falling from her eyes as a voice shouted: "This is your fault!" Other ponies shouted at her, other ponies began to swarm in... and Twilight arched her back with a scream of raw anger, a shockwave of force blasting from her horn and knocking ponies sprawling across the square, making the riot halt before it could even begin before she leaned forwards and shrieked: "Any unicorn could have raised their horn and given it up! Anyone could have stopped them, tried to reason with them... I lost Celestia too, and she meant more to me than she means to any of you! And I tried, I tried, I tried to give up my horn... what's happened to all of you?" "It ain't us... who changed. It's you." Applejack said coldly, picking herself up from a few feet away... and Rainbow Dash gritted his teeth as he stood up on his own hooves. And as the crowd of ponies began to stand, among them she saw Pinkie Pie, deflated and gray, trembling as tears fell from her eyes and Pinkamena snarled at any pony that came too close to them, and she saw Rarity and Spike edging hurriedly away from the crowd, and she saw others she had thought she'd known, thought had been friends... "You stay away from us, Twilight. You ain't wanted here, not no more... get out of town. Get out of Ponyville. Go to Luna and Scrivener, maybe you can watch them bury Celestia. God help us, because we just lost the one pony that could have stood up to those two, that balanced this whole country. Because of you... because you were Celestia's weakness." Twilight trembled, shrinking back, shivering and breathing hard as tears spilled down her cheeks as she stumbled backwards until she was pressing against the door of the library... and then she turned and shoved through it, staggering inside as Applejack snarled and shouted: "I think I speak for everypony when I say you got until sunrise to get out of town! Then I'll break that door down myself if I have to... you betrayed us! You ain't our friend!" Twilight shivered inside the library as she heard other yells from the ponies outside, but they didn't make sense as she staggered across the room... and ran right into Discombobulation, looking stupidly up as the Draconequus gazed silently down at her before the winged unicorn lunged upwards and hugged him tightly, burying her face against his scaled body and beginning to cry in earnest. And the chaos entity sighed quietly as he awkwardly hugged her against him, shushing her gently as he looked down at her silently and murmured: "I'm not very good at this." But the winged unicorn only clung to him as she cried, and Discombobulation looked at her with sympathy as he hesitantly stroked through her mane and kept her close until she wore herself out, finally curling up and trembling a bit as the Draconequus gently guided her to sitting back on the floor before he dropped to his knees, reaching up to grasp her shoulders quietly. "Listen to me, Twilight Sparkle. We've had good times and bad, laughs and tears and all sorts of memories. But like any television show I have to go on hiatus. Or perhaps... sabbatical is a better word, but then again that makes it sound both as if I was intelligent and had something to do. Really... I need a vacation. Time off. An escape." "W-What? Wait, I... I need you more than ever now, Discombobulation. I... it feels like I just lost most of my friends. I... I don't know who I can count on anymore, I don't know what's going on or..." Twilight shivered a bit, staring weakly up at the Draconequus, but he only smiled kindly and stroked gently under her muzzle. "What do I do without you?" "The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try and take over the world... at least, the worlds of those closest to us." Discombobulation squeezed her shoulder gently, then he straightened and grimaced a bit, rubbing slowly at his chest. "It's not that I never plan to come back. It's not that I won't be there if I can... but I can't be here all the time any longer. Both my urge to wander, to be free, to be a little chaotic... and I am a coward. A great, big, scared coward, questioning the integrity of... certain parties and... well, I want to wait for things to settle down." He paused, shaking his head and muttering: "That didn't make a lick of sense. Let me put it in clearer words." Discombobulation tented his fingers together, leaning forwards and saying gently: "The circus has to move on from town-to-town. You know that one day, around the same time each year, it'll come back into your life... but no matter how much you love the festival, the rigged games, the sugary sweets, and the clowns... well, okay, maybe not the clowns... all the same, the circus is going to move on. Has to move on... but one day, it'll be back." He reached out, petting her head gently and looking down at her with kindness and honest affection. "I like it here, Twilight Sparkle. I like you. I even like Luna and Scrivener and Pinkamena, even if they've gone a path I'd rather not walk myself. But I need to clear out while things settle down, much like a criminal crossing the border. I promise that I'll come back, though... and I'll even bring you a sombrero, and maybe a chihuahua, and some other delightfully-stereotypical items." Twilight only looked up at him silently, and then she shook her head slowly and smiled weakly as she asked finally: "I can't come with you, can I?" "No. You..." Discombobulation hesitated, then he reached up and gently flicked the charm hanging from the ivy collar around her neck, saying softly: "I think you know where you belong, Twilight Sparkle. I don't agree with it, perhaps... but what do I know? Keep safe for me, though, will you? I'd hate to come back and find we missed each other due to a series of unfortunate events." The violet mare nodded slowly, and then she closed her eyes, breathing deeply... but when she opened them, Discombobulation was gone. She looked back and forth, trembling a little, but already knew she wouldn't find him... and yet all the same, she couldn't help but drop her head forwards, whispering: "I... I miss you already." Twilight shook herself out after a moment, trembling a little still, but focusing herself on what she had to do. The anger she had seen in the eyes of Applejack and Rainbow Dash... the way the whole town had chosen her as their scapegoat... she gritted her teeth, knowing that her situation was serious, no matter how much she wanted to doubt they would do anything severe to her. But at the same time, she was terrified, because the ponies were so scared... and when scared and pressed into a corner... She shook her head quickly, clearing her thoughts as she grabbed a satchel and tossed the few things she wanted to keep into it. She thought about Pinkie Pie, but knew Pinkamena would take care of her... but what worried her more was Rarity and Spike. It would be a dangerous side-trip, but she felt it would be necessary... and as she strapped the bag on, she took one last look at the library over her shoulder, staring over the books and papers before closing her eyes and whispering: "One day. One day I'll be back and... everything will be okay..." Twilight shook her head out quickly, then headed for the door and opened it a crack, peeking out. The ponies had left, however, and it was dark out... but for extra protection, Twilight flicked her horn, concentrating on a simple spell that made the colors of her body fade and deepen. She had picked it up from Luna, one of her simpler polymorph spells, but useful for situations where she had to be careful... and the winged unicorn hurried out and across the square, wincing at the sound of her own hooves as she rushed into the dark city streets. She tried to stick to back alleys, grinning bitterly at the irony: now the well-lit streets were what she was afraid of, especially those where ponies stood guard, or where taverns and businesses stood. Thankfully, it wasn't too difficult for her to reach Rarity's boutique with minimal risk, and she knocked hurriedly on the door before leaning up to look through the window, whispering: "Rarity! Spike! It's me, Twilight... I just need a second..." She thought she saw movement for a moment, and Twilight frowned a bit through the window; it was hard to tell because there were no lights, no sounds, no... nothing. She hesitated, then finally reached down and tried the door... and when she found it unlocked, her heart skipped a beat in her chest before she quietly slipped through and into the boutique. The starlight shimmering through the windows glinted off the gemstones that laced outfits here and there, and other crystals that had been left out, including a basket that glowed almost like a lamp with a ghostly phosphorescence... and the winged unicorn looked at this apprehensively for a moment before she carefully started forwards across the floor, calling worriedly as her eyes focused in on the dark, open door at the back: "Rarity? Spike?" No answer, no reply, no sound, and Twilight grimaced before she concentrated, her horn lightly up and casting a soft glow in front of her, helping her find her way forwards. She felt a chill crawl up her spine as she stepped hesitantly into the connecting hall that led through the back of the boutique to Rarity's home, looking at an ajar door in the side of the hall before she shook her head quickly and hurried onwards to the shut door at the end of the corridor. It was locked, and Twilight frowned at this before she bit her lip and lowered her horn. The glow around this increased as she concentrated on a spell, her eyes locking on the crystalline doorknob, seeing herself reflected in it... and then her eyes widened as she realized there was a second shape in the doorknob as well, slowly leaning over her- Twilight cried out and kicked backwards on instinct with both rear hooves, and it caught a large earth pony in the chest, knocking him flopping onto his back with a shout of surprise before he rolled quickly to his hooves, snarling at her. A knife glinted in his jaws, and Twilight's eyes widened in horror as she scrambled back against the door, her horn glowing as she shouted: "G-Get away from me!" The earth pony paid her no heed, running forwards with a snarl, and before Twilight could get over her shock he crashed into her and tackled her backwards through the flimsy door, knocking her sprawling into the kitchen beyond. Twilight shrieked and shoved at him as the earth pony lashed his head to the side, bringing the knife on a wicked, wild cut at her that sliced through her shoulder and then ripped through the ivy collar around her neck, digging a thin gash along her throat before both her rear hooves slammed into his stomach. He groaned, dropping the knife as his eyes bulged, hugging himself before Twilight swung her horn forwards with a snarl of fear and desperation, and a telekinetic blast hammered into the earth pony and sent him flying backwards, shoulder and front leg striking the broken door-frame with a sickening crack before he crashed backwards into the hall with a scream of misery. He crawled to his feet, tears in his eyes as his disjointed, broken leg hung limply, and then he staggered around in a circle and fled even as Twilight crawled to her own hooves, shivering in terror before she shouted: "Spike! Rarity!' She turned, charging for the stairs leading up to the second level and Rarity's bedroom, unaware that her collar had fallen from around her neck or even that she was bleeding from the wound in her shoulder before she plowed through the door... and stared stupidly, finding the bedroom ransacked and disheveled. A note lay on the bed, though, held in place by a large piece of crystal... and Twilight trembled as she approached this, her horn glowing as she looked down and read in a whisper: "'To whoever finds this letter... please forgive us. But Spike and I are not on anypony's side, and don't wish to become involved in any conflict. We've tried to remain neutral in Ponyville... but Ponyville, sadly, seems intent to divide all people in it between one side or another. The last straw was watching as our dear friends turned on each other... as that bond of friendship between us all was broken, and we were threatened to either help Ponyville's soldiers or be treated as if we were helping Luna, Spike and I have decided to leave. We don't know where we're going, but all we need is each other: we plan to start a new life somewhere in this wild and wide Equestria, and we only ask that we are left alone. Please don't come looking for us... there's nothing left for us in Ponyville anymore. Sincerely, Rarity.'" Twilight closed her eyes tightly, shivering for a moment... and then she looked up sharply as she heard voices downstairs, her eyes widening as a pony snarled: "-kill her and send a message to Nightmare Moon after what she did to Fig!" Another pony replied with something in a cautioning hiss, and Twilight didn't stay to listen, instead bolting towards the windows and flicking her horn downwards as it gave a sharp pulse, glass exploding outwards before she leapt into the night air and spread her wings, flapping them hard to propel herself into the sky. She heard yells from below, looked over her shoulder fearfully as she saw Pegasi take to the air and chase after her even as she flew as fast and hard as she could towards the edge of Ponyville, and then she cursed as she glanced back and saw them gaining, gaining, gaining... and then her eyes widened in shock as a Nightmare appeared out of the darkness beside one sprinting through the air, its red eyes blazing as it grinned and bit at the Pegasus, making it rear back in terror and lose course. The other Pegasus winced, then shrieked when a second Nightmare appeared ahead, charging past Twilight and straight towards it through the dark sky, and the Pegasus twisted himself violently downwards and lost control, rolling through the air until he crashed into the field below. And both Nightmares laughed as they cantered through the air in a circle to fall in step on either side of Twilight, gazing towards her affectionately as one said kindly: "Come with us, Twilight Sparkle. We will heal your injury and then take you to Enstasis and our Masters. We feel your longing and your sorrow, but do not worry... soon, you will see that everything is for the best. They will help you belong again." And Twilight was only able to nod, trembling, turning her eyes forwards and finding herself hoping with all her heart that the words the Nightmares spoke were true. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story